Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an insert for a water sports board, e.g., a surfboard, and more specifically to an insert having a radially extending pre-impregnated sheet which serves as an intermediate bonding structure between an insert housing and an external polymer coating on the water sports board.
Description of the Related Art
Most surfboards, and other water sports boards, include one or more fins coupled to the board for stability and control. The boards themselves are frequently formed of a foam core with a laminate, such as fiberglass and a laminating resin covering and sealing the core. In the past, fins were often glued directly to the surface of the board and subsequently reinforced with fiberglass patches which were laminated to the board adjacent the fin. However, the process of attaching the fin directly to the surface of the board was generally labor intensive, time consuming and oftentimes did not yield a sufficient bond between the fin and the board.
More recently, fin mounts have been developed which allow the fin to be detachably secured to the board via various fin mount constructions. In order to install the fin mount into the board, the fin mount is typically positioned into the foam core and bonded to the board. Once the fin mount is placed within the foam core, the laminate may be placed over portions of the mount to secure the fin mount to the board. The use of fin mounts and detachable fins also simplified transport of a surfboard. For instance, it is typically easier to place three surfboards in a bag, in an airplane, or stacked in the back of a vehicle when the fins are detached from the surfboards.
Although the development and use of fin mounts has generally simplified the process for attaching the fin to the surfboard, conventional fin mounts typically suffer from certain deficiencies. Most notably, conventional fin mounts oftentimes fail under the stresses and loads experienced while surfing. Another deficiency commonly associated with conventional fin mounts is that they are relatively heavy and therefore, the fin mounts undesirably increase the overall weight of the surfboard.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved mounting device which has an improved strength to weight ratio and provides enhanced bonding between an external laminate and an injection molded mount housing. Various aspects of the present invention address these particular needs, as will be discussed in more detail below.